Earthquake Risk and the Workplace David Bonowitz, S.E. Chair, SEAONC Existing Buildings Committee Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation

Earthquake Risk Earthquake Risk

and the and the WorkplaceWorkplace

David Bonowitz, S.E.Chair, SEAONC Existing Buildings Committee

Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ CompensationCatastrophe Preparedness Conference

April 7, 2006

IssuesIssues How can we enhance worker safety?How can we enhance worker safety? What have past earthquakes taught us?What have past earthquakes taught us? What do engineers know that we don’t?What do engineers know that we don’t?

Earthquake lossesEarthquake losses Your perspective vs. the building code’sYour perspective vs. the building code’s Four open secretsFour open secrets

EQ losses: What’s at risk?EQ losses: What’s at risk? Life safetyLife safety Building and contentsBuilding and contents Business continuityBusiness continuity Public servicesPublic services Tax baseTax base Community resilienceCommunity resilience Neighborhood character & historyNeighborhood character & history Good willGood will

1. No code for existing 1. No code for existing buildingsbuildings Upgrades sometimes triggeredUpgrades sometimes triggered

Change of occupancyChange of occupancy Major renovationMajor renovation

Otherwise up to owner, tenantsOtherwise up to owner, tenants ExceptionsExceptions

Hospitals (SB 1953)Hospitals (SB 1953) Unreinforced masonry (SB 547)Unreinforced masonry (SB 547)

Vulnerable structure typesVulnerable structure types Unreinforced masonryUnreinforced masonry Tilt-upsTilt-ups Unbraced cripple wallsUnbraced cripple walls Hillside housesHillside houses Soft story apartments (and HOGs)Soft story apartments (and HOGs) Non-ductile concrete framesNon-ductile concrete frames Parking structures (precast concrete)Parking structures (precast concrete)

Unreinforced masonryUnreinforced masonry1994

20031989

6800 in 19906800 in 1990 60% mitigated60% mitigated Remaining riskRemaining risk

Life safetyLife safety HousingHousing Building valueBuilding value Small businessSmall business Neighborhood Neighborhood

character, historycharacter, history

URM in the Bay AreaURM in the Bay Area

Tilt-upsTilt-ups Evolving code Evolving code

since 1971since 1971 Significant Significant

damage in damage in 19941994

Thousands in Thousands in Bay AreaBay Area

No mandatory No mandatory retrofitretrofit

Tilt-upsTilt-ups Remaining Remaining

riskrisk Building valueBuilding value Contents Contents

valuevalue Business Business

continuitycontinuity

1994

Non-ductile concrete framesNon-ductile concrete frames Pre-1976 Pre-1976

inventory not inventory not quantifiedquantified

All occupanciesAll occupancies Hard to spot Hard to spot

from streetfrom street Complex and Complex and

expensive to expensive to retrofitretrofit

1971

Non-ductile concrete frames: Non-ductile concrete frames: 19941994

Non-ductile concrete framesNon-ductile concrete frames Remaining riskRemaining risk

Life safetyLife safety Building valueBuilding value Business Business

continuitycontinuity Emergency Emergency

responseresponse Tax baseTax base Good willGood will

2. Nonstructural hazards 2. Nonstructural hazards countcount Often overlooked in constructionOften overlooked in construction Sometimes life-threateningSometimes life-threatening

Falling hazardsFalling hazards EgressEgress Hazardous materialsHazardous materials FireFire

Often more costly and disruptiveOften more costly and disruptive

Nonstructural hazardsNonstructural hazards Precast panelsPrecast panels CeilingsCeilings Shelves/equipShelves/equip HazmatHazmat

1964


2005


2001



2001


1994

EQ losses: What’s at risk?EQ losses: What’s at risk? Life safetyLife safety Building and contentsBuilding and contents Business continuityBusiness continuity Public servicesPublic services Tax baseTax base Community resilienceCommunity resilience Neighborhood character & historyNeighborhood character & history Good willGood will

Business disruptionBusiness disruption Nonstructural damageNonstructural damage Infrastructure & servicesInfrastructure & services Workforce stabilityWorkforce stability

Nonstructural damageNonstructural damage

Infrastructure & servicesInfrastructure & services

1994

1989

Parking structures: 1994Parking structures: 1994 Inventory Inventory

unknownunknown Remaining riskRemaining risk

Life safetyLife safety Building valueBuilding value Business Business

continuitycontinuity

Soft story apartmentsSoft story apartments ““Tuck-under”Tuck-under” Most Most

residentialresidential 1960s-70s1960s-70s

Older in S.F.Older in S.F.

Bay Area soft story riskBay Area soft story risk 15,000 buildings (1 in 6 multistory MFR)15,000 buildings (1 in 6 multistory MFR)

500,000 people500,000 people

San Francisco: 5700 buildings (over half)San Francisco: 5700 buildings (over half) 180,000 people180,000 people Half of S.F.’s total economic loss in 7.2 eqHalf of S.F.’s total economic loss in 7.2 eq

Santa Clara County: 2630 buildings (1 in Santa Clara County: 2630 buildings (1 in 3)3) 90,000 people90,000 people

Soft story apartmentsSoft story apartments

1994

1989

1971

20031994

1989

1971

2003

Soft story apartmentsSoft story apartments Remaining riskRemaining risk

Life safetyLife safety HousingHousing Building valueBuilding value Personal Personal

propertyproperty Small businessSmall business Emergency Emergency

responseresponse

Soft story apartmentsSoft story apartments No mandatory No mandatory

retrofit in Bay retrofit in Bay AreaArea AB 304AB 304 BerkeleyBerkeley CAPSSCAPSS

3. Codes are about Life 3. Codes are about Life SafetySafety Not damage preventionNot damage prevention Not business continuityNot business continuity Not workforce stabilityNot workforce stability Not post-earthquake recoveryNot post-earthquake recovery

Preparedness in perspectivePreparedness in perspective

19819899

19919944

20020066

2012?2012?

ResponsResponsee

RecoverRecoveryy

MitigatioMitigationn

4. Best preparation is 4. Best preparation is mitigationmitigation Awareness, educationAwareness, education Self-assess risksSelf-assess risks Professional consultation (engineer, Professional consultation (engineer,

lender, insurer, attorney?)lender, insurer, attorney?)

ResourcesResources Seismic Safety Commission: Seismic Safety Commission:

seismic.ca.govseismic.ca.gov Commercial Property Owner’s GuideCommercial Property Owner’s Guide

(1998)(1998) Risk Management ToolsRisk Management Tools

ABAG: quake.abag.ca.govABAG: quake.abag.ca.gov Preparing your businessPreparing your business Liability of businessesLiability of businesses

LessonsLessons1.1. There is no code for existing There is no code for existing

buildingsbuildings

2.2. Nonstructural hazards are Nonstructural hazards are significantsignificant

3.3. Building codes are about Life SafetyBuilding codes are about Life Safety

4.4. Mitigation is the best PreparationMitigation is the best Preparation

Documents

Earthquake Risk and the Workplace David Bonowitz, S.E. Chair, SEAONC Existing Buildings Committee Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation